KYY portable monitor review – how to setup?

KYY portable monitor review

Overview

Does KYY portable monitor connect with MacBook? Yes, you can connect with it with USB-C cable and DisplayLink driver. KYY has two 14-inch IPS 1080p screens with 0–210 degree rotation between them. With the inbuilt kickstand of the X90A, you may tilt the displays up to a maximum of ninety degrees. While KYY isn’t aimed at gamers, its 60Hz refresh rate makes it an excellent productivity enhancer for all users. Discover details in KYY portable monitor review.

Every recommendation we make is independently reviewed. We might get paid when you make a purchase using one of our links. Find out how we are paid on commission. Learn how we earn commission

KYY portable monitor package

The KYY portable monitor package includes:

  • KYY X90A portable dual monitor
  • USB stick (with display driver)
  • 1x USB-C to USB-C cable
  • 1x USB-C to USB-A cable
  • 1x USB-C to USB-A adapter
  • 5 V/3 A power connection
  • instruction manual

KYY portable monitor User Manual

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • 4K resolution
  • Excellent build quality
  • Versatile operating modes

Cons

  • No HDMI connectivity
  • Weak brightness
  • Mediocre speakers

KYY portable monitor Specs

  • Current Price: $179.99
  • Item: KYY portable monitor
  • Weight 3.2 pounds
  • Panel Type / Backlight IPS / WLED
  • Screen Size / Aspect Ratio 14 inches / 16:9 (2)
  • Max Resolution & Refresh Rate 1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz (2)
  • Max Brightness 300 nits
  • Contrast Ratio 1,000:1
  • Screen Coating Matte/Anti-Reflective
  • Brightness: 300cd/m²
  • 178° Viewing Angle
  • Connectivity: USB-C x 2, Mini-HDMI
  • PS4, XBOX One, Nintendo Switch, PC and smartphone compatibility
  • Slim, lightweight profile (0.3” width, 1.7lbs)
  • Magnetic, PU leather smart cover
  • Built-In Speakers

Price

The KYY K3-3 portable monitor delivers enough features and value at its asking price of $249 as of this writing (and as low as $229 with extra discounts). This allows it to compete with the best portable monitors. For less than $200, the Lepow C2 is a good substitute if you don’t want 4K resolution. At $299, the Viewsonic VX1755 is a nice alternative as well, including a 17.2-inch 144 Hz FreeSync display.

Compare KYY portable monitor

K3 portable monitorK5-3 portable monitorX90A(MacOS/Wins/ Android)
Screen Size15.6inch14inch14inch x 2
Input InterfaceType-C Port*2 Mini-HDMI Port*1Type-C Port*2 Mini-HDMI Port*1Type-C Port*2
Resolution1920 x 10801920 x 10801920 x 1080
Brightness300cd/m²350cd/m²300cd/m²
Color Gamut72% NTSC72% NTSC72% NTSC
Contrast Ratio1000:11500:11000:1
Panel TypeIPS LCDIPS LCDIPS LCD
SpeakerBuilt-in Dual SpeakersBuilt-in Dual Speakers/
One Cable ConnectionYesYesYes
KYY portable monitor review

KYY portable monitor review

Design

Since most portable monitors are made mostly of plastic in order to keep costs down, we like KYY’s decision to go with a more upscale appearance and feel. Durable and pleasant to the touch, the KYY portable monitor is made of aluminum alloy.

Thanks to its double-hinge design, KYY claims that the 3.2-pound X90A can hold laptops with displays ranging from 12 to 16 inches. The thickness of the KYY portable monitor is only 0.37 inches, as opposed to 0.46 inches for the ThinkVision M14t and 0.46 inches for the Asus ROG XG16AHPE with built-in kickstand and battery.

Ports

While most portable monitors have an HDMI port, the X90A does not. It just has two USB-C ports instead. If your laptop is unable to supply the X90A with the required power, the bottom USB-C port can be used for power, and the top USB-C port is used to connect to your computer.

Modern laptops don’t really care about the USB-C requirement, but it would have been great to add an HDMI port so it could be used with Raspberry Pi boards, gaming consoles, and older PCs. Also absent from this price range of portable monitors are integrated headphones and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

KYY portable monitor Display mode review

The X90A portable display is a dual-screen IPS monitor with two Full HD (1920 x 1080) displays, each measuring 14 inches across. KYY boasts a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, a refresh rate of 60 Hz, and a maximum brightness of 300 nits.

The X90A portable screen boasts a central spine that accommodates many operation modes and an integrated kickstand. The extended mode, which has the two monitors protruding from the side and the central spine pressed up against the laptop lid, is perhaps the most helpful.

You can also position one of the displays vertically in the portrait mode. When in Presentation mode, you can share your screens with the person in front of you by flipping both screens backward.

Power, Menu, Plus, and Minus are the four buttons on the left display; only the last three are present on the right display.

OSD Menu

Every display on the X90A portable monitor has its own on-screen display (OSD) since each has its own controls. With controls for temperature, sharpness, contrast, brightness, and color, the OSD is simple. Additionally, you may change the OSD overlay’s vertical and horizontal location as well as the amount of time it waits before disappearing.

KYY portable monitor brightness

The resolution of the IPS LCD is 3840 by 2160 pixels. It is 4K. And that comes out to 282 pixels per inch at the 15.6-inch size. In contrast, a MacBook Pro’s 16.2-inch display measures 3456 by 2234 at 254 ppi.

Although KYY states that the X90A can reach up to 300 nits, the monitor performs noticeably worse in a light meter test. The maximum we have ever seen was 248.6 nits in Game mode, while it averaged 228 nits in Default mode.

Color

With the Default settings, we saw 62% coverage of sRGB and just 43.9 percent coverage of DCI-P3 in KYY portable monitor. Every other picture mode, as measured by our colorimeter, was within one or two points of the default mode. Even the Sidetrak Swivel, which in our earlier lab testing set new lows for portable monitors, performed worse than the X90A.

KYY portable monitor setup

With the KYY K3-3 Portable Monitor, your Mac or iPad gets an excellent second screen. even a few iPhones. With a 4K resolution and a 15.6-inch screen, it’s perfect for work and pleasure anywhere you go.

A magnetic folio case that wraps around the K3-3 to protect it and serve as a stand is included with the device. The stand firmly holds the screen in place, and setup is really quick. The display has a 10 degree to 40 degree tilt backward adjustment.

Two USB-C ports (DisplayPort 1.2 Alt Mode) and a micro HDMI are located on the right side of the KYY K3-3. With a laptop that is compatible, you can use a single USB-C cable to power the display directly and drive video. When connecting the monitor via HDMI, you can also depend on the provided USB-C power adapter (the USB-C cable cannot be detached).

KYY portable monitor alternative

Arzopa G1 Game at $130 is the best KYY portable monitor altnernative. The Arzopa G1 Game is a gaming accessory, but throughout my testing, which included a number of general duties like online browsing, streaming media, and using Apple Pages and Google Workspace, I discovered that this model is a competent, reasonably priced multitasker. Of course, there are trade-offs with it.

The actual on-screen display isn’t as large as other models’. The G1 has the standard brightness and image mode modification options, with brightness and contrast levels ranging from 0 to 100. The brightness is set to 15 in the Standard setting by default, which I felt was too low for a room with little natural light.

In the evening, I saw that I had to significantly increase its brightness. The image quality is good, but due of the brightness problem, I didn’t like the Standard mode as much as I did other models like the SideTrak and Asus ZenScreen.

With its broader display and slimmer bezels, the G1’s 17-inch screen made viewing games more enjoyable than on my Windows laptop’s built-in screen. Aside from games, I really enjoyed watching Ted Lasso’s Lessons in Chemistry and other Apple TV+ material on my Mac. The video looked fantastic, but it was darker and less colorful than other models I tested unless I made certain tweaks.

Editor’s recommendations